A pair of dominant performances have seen FC Bayern Munich’s Carsen Edwards and Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s Vincent Poirier share co-MVP honors in Round 28 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. 

Round 28 co-MVPs: Carsen Edwards, Vincent Poirier

A pair of dominant performances have seen FC Bayern Munich’s [Carsen Edwards](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/carsen-edwards/011987/) and Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s [Vincent Poirier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/vincent-poirier/004887/) share co-MVP honors in Round 28 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Both Edwards and Poirier finished with a 29 PIR, the highest in this round. Edwards erupted for 30 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 6-of-10 triples and 4-of-5 free throws as Bayern beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 100-82. He also posted 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal and 7 drawn fouls. This is the second time that Edwards has been the MVP of the Round, having also earned this honor in Round 23 of this current season. Poirier, meanwhile, had an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double as Efes defeated Virtus Segafredo Bologna 89-68. He reached those 18 points after shooting 7 for 11 on two-pointers and 4 for 5 from the line. Poirier also added 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls drawn. This is the fourth time that he has taken home MVP of the Round honors, having previously done so in Round 12 of the 2017-18 season, in Game 2 of the 2019 playoffs and Game 2 of the 2022 playoffs.

In third place this week is Zvezda’s Joel Bolomboy, who had a monster night on the glass in his team’s loss at Bayern. Bolomboy, who had a 28 PIR, grabbed 19 rebounds – the most of any player this season – of which 12 came on the offensive end, also a EuroLeague season high and the second most all-time. He netted 12 points on 6-of-8 two-pointers, made 2 assists, blocked 1 shot and drew 1 foul. Fourth place in Round 28 is occupied by Bayern’s [Vladimir Lucic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/vladimir-lucic/001288/), who amassed 18 points on 3-of-5 two-pointers, 3-of-4 triples and 3-of-6 free throws, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, zero turnovers and 7 drawn fouls for a PIR of 26. Rounding out of the list of top performers this week is AS Monaco’s [Jordan Loyd](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jordan-loyd/009754/) with a 25 PIR. Loyd scored 21 points on 4-of-5 two-pointers, 4-of-4 three-pointers and 1-of-1 free throws as Monaco beat Paris Basketball 79-91, with the American also posting 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, zero turnovers and 2 fouls drawn.

### Individual highs: Joel Bolomboy, Zvezda, 19 rebounds

Bayern’s Carsen Edwards poured in 30 points in Round 28, the most of any player. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens star [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) leads the EuroLeague in scoring with 20.6 points per game.

Zvezda center Bolomboy set a EuroLeague season high with the 19 rebounds he pulled down in this round. He also tops the rebounding charts with 8.5 boards per night.

FC Barcelona’s [Tomas Satoransky](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tomas-satoransky/002939/) posted a career-high 12 assists, which is the best mark of any player this week. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv’s [Tamir Blatt](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tamir-blatt/011193/) is the league’s leading assist provider with 7.2 per contest.

Seven players recorded 3 steals in Round 28: Olympiacos Piraeus’s [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/), LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne’s [Neal Sako](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/neal-sako/010545/), Maccabi’s [Jimmy Clark](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jimmy-clark-iii/013699/), Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s [Luka Samanic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/luka-samanic/007579/), ALBA Berlin’s [Matteo Spagnolo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/matteo-spagnolo/008173/), Monaco’s [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) and Paris’s [Daulton Hommes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/daulton-hommes/011949/). Bayern ballhawk [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/) averages a league-best 1.7 steals per game.

Baskonia’s [Donta Hall](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/donta-hall/011196/) finished with 3 blocks, the most in this round. Monaco’s [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/) (1.41 BPG) has a slender lead over Real Madrid’s [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) (1.39 BPG) at the top of the charts in blocks.

Vincent Poirier (18 points, 13 rebounds), Joel Bolomboy (12 points, 19 rebounds) and Neal Sako (10 points, 11 rebounds) were the only players to record a double-double in Round 28.

This is the second time Edwards has secured the award, and the fourth time for Poirier

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 27th winner in this season's EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Alican Utku Ozler beat everyone else in Round 27 with his team 'Polestar', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 245.00.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 27 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 28th winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Nontas Gligoris beat everyone else in Round 28 with his team 'BC Spanox', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 232.55.

Nontas had the following starting lineup: Carsen Edwards of FC Bayern Munich as team captain, then his Bayern teammate Vladimir Lucic, Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, Joel Bolomboy of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Elijah Bryant of Anadolu Efes Istanbul. His sixth man was Efes's Vincent Poirier. The rest of the bench consisted of Barcelona's Dario Brizuela, Bonzie Colson of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Zvezda's Isaiah Canaan and Mario Hezonja of Real Madrid. His team's head coach was Anadolu Efes Istanbul play-caller Luca Banchi.

The prize for finishing first in Round 28 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Nontas!

Marko Djukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 4,781.09 points.

Trades are now open for Round 29. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season. You can either trade up to four players, or a head coach and three players.

The first game in Round 29 tips off on Thursday, March 13, as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at 18:45 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 28 winner

Olympiacos BC beat KK Partizan on Friday night to notch its fifth win in a row, and 12th in the last 13 games, ahead of next week's Greek derby against Panathinaikos BC. 

Olympiacos steamrolled Partizan with one eye on the Greek derby 

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season is heading into the home stretch and leader [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) kept its stranglehold on pole position with a comfortable [82-70 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/olympiacos-rolls-on-with-smooth-win-over-partizan-82-70/) in a one-sided contest.

It was a fifth win in a row for Olympiacos, which also made it 12 out of the last 13 as the Greek giant rolled on in Europe’s premier club competition ahead of next week’s mouth-watering clash with reigning champion [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/).

It does not get any bigger than that, and the fierce rivalry between the neighboring clubs is set to produce another epic chapter, with Olympiacos having home-court advantage at the Peace and Friendship Stadium just days after celebrating the club’s milestone 100th anniversary on March 10.

The game against Partizan provided for a perfect dress rehearsal as Olympiacos stifled out one of the competition’s most potent offensive teams on the back of ironclad defense, having led by as many as 20 points in the second half.

Among a pack of rock-solid Olympiacos performers, big man [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/) was named player of the game after racking up 10 points and 9 boards, shooting 5 of 7 from the floor as he dominated the paint at both ends of the floor against his former club.

“I am just delighted we won,” Milutinov said in his postgame comments. “One more win and we’re just trying to improve our game all the time. We want to keep our EuroLeague streak going and today we put in a good overall performance.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> of the game, Nikola Milutinov!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/7rU6vuSPOx">pic.twitter.com/7rU6vuSPOx</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1898126497430356089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Georgios Bartzokas praised a festive atmosphere inside the Peace and Friendship Stadium, where the home team’s red-and-white army roared Olympiacos on from start to finish.

The home faithful, who nurture brethren relations with Partizan’s bitter city foe [Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade/red/), came up with sporadic good-natured taunts as they mixed their own songs with some of Zvezda’s favorite lyrics to galvanize Olympiacos.  

“I am very appreciative of the atmosphere as it shows what a huge club we are,” Bartzokas said. “If we hadn’t missed some open shots with great shooters like \[Sasha\] Vezenkov and \[Evan\] Fournier in our ranks, we might have had more than 30 assists tonight but we still beat a very strong opponent."

Olympiacos dished out 25 assists and racked up 33 points, with [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) pacing the hosts on 17 points although he was a modest 1 of 6 from downtown, using his trademark movement off the ball to devastating effect as he scored a barrage of easy backdoor points.

Vezenkov, who received the EuroLeague’s January MVP award prior to the game, was also looking forward to the clash with Panathinaikos and a personal matchup against last month’s MVP [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/), with the two players continuously heaping praise on each other this season.

Vezenkov also acknowledged the game was bound to produce a titanic tussle after Panathinaikos edged Olympiacos 79-75 in the Greek Cup final a fortnight ago, rubbing salt into the country’s national champions again after Olympiacos claimed the Greek league title last season.    

“It was very important for us to win this one \[against Partizan\] and mark the club’s anniversary, 100 years of history for the fans and the family,” said Vezenkov. “Except for the last five minutes, we played great defense and now we’ve got to keep going.

“Like I said many times, \[Nunn\] is a great player and a great person. We both want to win the EuroLeague trophy for our respective clubs and we now we have to shift our focus on to them because they are coming for us next Friday. They won the \[Greek\] Cup so we need this game.”  

Game News

The EuroLeague pace-setter brushed aside Partizan ahead of a titanic clash with its eternal rival 

Olympiacos Piraeus v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2025-03-07T19:15:00.000Z)

New signing Jimmy Clark has been the common factor as Maccabi Tel Aviv BC has recorded back-to-back wins in the EuroLeague, having beaten Fenerbahçe Beko and then LDLC ASVEL.

Jimmy Clark proved his value to help Maccabi defeat ASVEL

Despite having no chance of qualifying to the playoffs, [Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/tel/) has shown great pride since the February break. 

First, it [stunned Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 94-76](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/short-handed-maccabi-surprises-fenerbahce-94-76/) in Round 27 on February 27, then on Friday night it recorded a [hard-fought 95-103 win in France at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/maccabi-prevails-in-offensive-battle-against-asvel-95-102/) in Round 28.

“We are showing character, even though we don't have a chance \[to reach the\] playoffs or play-in,” Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash stressed after the game. “We've been through a lot this year. We built the team from zero, we had a lot of changes, a lot of difficulties, we are not playing in front of our home court, but the right character, the right attitude is not to find excuses, it's to come every day and to keep fighting."

Besides its smooth and effective offense, there is another common factor in the last two wins: [Jimmy Clark](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jimmy-clark-iii/013699/). The American guard joined the Yellows right before the transfer deadline and has had an immediate impact for his new team. He went for 7 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists against Fenerbahce before finishing with 15 points, 7 assists and 3 steals against ASVEL.

In his first season overseas, Clark adjusted to his new team pretty well and pretty quickly. Besides his stats, he has looked comfortable in his new role and in a new competition. Against ASVEL, he nailed a buzzer-beater three to close the first period and provided a couple of highlight plays with a pair of dunks after steals that showed his quickness and athleticism.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐈𝐑! <a href="https://t.co/0oepuWpR7J">pic.twitter.com/0oepuWpR7J</a></p>&mdash; Maccabi Tel Aviv BC 🇮🇱​ (@MaccabiTLVBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaccabiTLVBC/status/1898117073974284308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

But talking about the game, Clark proved crucial for his team in the last period. He had to leave the court early when he committed his fourth foul, with Maccabi leading 72-78. He couldn’t rest a lot, though, as he was put on the floor less than two minutes later after ASVEL had just turned the tables, 81-80.

Clark delivered immediately, first assisting [Levi Randolph](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/levi-randolph/013382/) for a jumper, then scoring a couple of tough and contested layups to allow Maccabi to recover the lead. He also set the foundations for others like [Marial Shayok](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marial-shayok/011202/https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marial-shayok/011202/) and [Jasiel Rivero](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/jasiel-rivero/011214/), who took over later to avoid further ASVEL comeback attempts. 

Even though Clark did not score again in the last six minutes, Coach Katash had him on the court for most of that time, as he did with Shayok, who also had 4 fouls, recognizing his value to the team and to the win.

The Israeli team is 2-0 since the American joined the team before the transfer deadline

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2025-03-07T19:00:00.000Z)

Tomas Satoransky and Dario Brizuela both set career highs in assists as FC Barcelona got a much-needed win at ALBA Berlin.

Satoransky, Brizuela led Barcelona on a key night in Berlin

After a couple of losses, [FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/) found some light at the end of the tunnel to [beat ALBA Berlin 85-99](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/barcelona-grabs-important-road-win-in-berlin-85-99/) at Uber Arena in Round 28. It took a team-oriented effort to beat ALBA in the German capital but above all, playmaker [Tomas Satoransky](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tomas-satoransky/002939/) gave his team's offense the order and decision-making required to get the victory.

With [Juan Nunez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/juan-nunez/010106/) and [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) injured, all eyes were on [Dario Brizuela](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dario-brizuela/009992/) and Satoransky, who shared the point guard duties in this game. Satoransky had 8 of his 12 assists in the second half, setting a new career high. His previous record in assists were the 10 he dished against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in 2022 and against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Game 2 of the 2016 playoffs. Satoransky added 9 points and 5 rebounds to complete his all-around performance.

Brizuela also helped Barca in many aspects of the game, finishing with 13 points on 2-of-3 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, also a new EuroLeague career high. Brizuela had previously dished 5 assists twice, against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz earlier this season and against FC Bayern Munich in the 2023-24 campaign. Satorasnky and Brizuela combined for 18 assists and just two turnovers.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">🏀 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲 supera el seu rècord d’assistències a l’Eurolliga<br><br>✅ Les 12 assistències de ‘Sato’ superen les 10 assistències registrades en l’Estrella Roja-Barça del 30 de desembre del 2022<br><br>✅ El seu rècord a l’ACB també és de 12 assistències, en el Barça -… <a href="https://t.co/SjeVFOC2J1">pic.twitter.com/SjeVFOC2J1</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1898127971766223300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Their inspired performance allowed a lot of players to get solid contributions, especially off the bench. After a couple of games seeing limited playing time, [Willy Hernangomez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/willy-hernangomez/003196/) had 15 points in 24 minutes. [Joel Parra](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/joel-parra/007464/) had 9 points, including a wild alley-oop slam, and 4 rebounds. 

Barca's bench players combined for 51 points, which says enough about the depth of coach Joan Penarroya's team, despite being without three injured players. Added to Nunez and Punter, center [Jan Vesely](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jan-vesely/000925/) remains sidelined, added to [Nico Laprovittola](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolas-laprovittola/006435/)'s long-term absence.

After the game, Brizuela highlighted his team's resilience, battling injury problems to stay competitive.

"Man, this season has been really hard for us with all the injuries, all the up and downs. We are fighting a lot at this moment with four guys out, with all the young guys, a lot of problems with the guys that are supposed to be healthy. So I'm really proud of my team right now," Brizuela said. 

"The way we fought, it was amazing. We did a good job in the first half, but with so many mistakes and we were really tired at the end. We made some big plays both in offense and defense and that's the way to play basketball."

They set new career highs to help the Blaugrana bounce back from recent losses

ALBA Berlin v FC Barcelona (2025-03-07T19:30:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona returned to winning ways by downing ALBA Berlin 85-99 at Uber Arena in the German capital in Round 28 on Friday. 

Barcelona grabs important road win in Berlin, 85-99

FC Barcelona returned to winning ways by downing ALBA Berlin 85-99 at Uber Arena in the German capital in Round 28 on Friday. Barca improved to 15-13 in the standings while ALBA dropped to 4-24. 

Jabari Parker paced the winners with 21 points. Willy Hernangomez added 15, Youssoupha Fall and Dario Brizuela each had 13, Chimezie Metu got 11 while Tomas Satoransky dished a career-high 12 assists for Barca. Yanni Wetzell led ALBA with 15 points. Matt Thomas added 12 while David McCormack had 11 for the hosts.

Game Videos

McCormack got ALBA going with a jumper and fed William McDowell-White for a dunk. Fall and Gabriele Procida traded baskets before Justin Anderson followed a three-pointer with a layup that gave Barca its first lead, 6-7. Procida buried a highly-contested shot and Thomas responded to Parker's jumper with a bomb from downtown. Fall kept pacing Barca before Parker erased Wetzells jump hook with a dunk. Procida stopped the show with a huge slam, Louis Olinde added a running hook and Martin Hermannsson's three-pointer made ALBA restore a 20-18 lead after 10 minutes.

McCormack scored around the basket early in the second quarter. Dame Sarr and Brizuela each struck from beyond the arc to put Barca in charge, 22-25. Thomas joined the three-point shootout, Brizuela scored again and Malte Delow's floater tied it at 27-27. Justin Bean followed a three-pointer with a jumper before Wetzell's layup gave ALBA a 34-29 margin. Hermannsson banked in a floater, getting help from Wetzell to make it a six-point game, 37-31. Fall stepped up with a put-back layup and Tomas Satoransky scored in penetration in a 0-6 run that made Barca tie it at 37-37. Procida ignited the crowd with a monster dunk but Fall single-handedly gave the guests a 39-41 lead at halftime. 

McCormack downed a mid-range jumper soon after the break and Thomas's three-pointer gave ALBA a 44-43 lead. McCormack buried another jumper but Fall and Satoransky each dunked to put Barca ahead, 46-47. Parker improved McDowell-White's layup with a triple and soon gave his team a 48-52 lead. Parker insisted from downtown and Joel Parra erased Wetzell's layup with a jump hook. Hernangomez and Wetzell traded layups before Matteo Spagnolo added free throws, a driving layup and a jumper to put ALBA in front, 60-59. A red-hot Spagnolo matched Hernangomez's layup with an off-balanced basket. Elias Rapieque scored in transition, Hernangomez answered with a three-point play and Satoransky's put-back layup gave Barca a 64-66 edge after 30 minutes.  

Metu banked in a close shot and erased Rapieque's triple with his own shot from downtown. Hernangomez scored in the paint before Matu sank another three-pointer to make ALBA call timeout at 67-76. McCormack dunked before Brizuela took over with a wild four-point play. Robert Baker answered from beyond the arc but an unstoppable Hernangomez boosted the guests' lead to 72-84. Parra took over with an alley-oop slam which Hernangomez followed with a layup in transition. Wetzell and Thomas tried to change things for ALBA before Parker sealed the outcome, 82-96, with back-to-back three-pointers. 

Jabari Parker and Tomas Satoransky led the Blaugrana to their 15th victory of the season

Olympiacos BC stayed firmly in the driver’s seat of the EuroLeague standings and improved to 21-7 in the regular season after cruising to an 82-70 home win over KK Partizan, the club’s 12th in the last 13 games in Europe’s premier club competition.

Olympiacos rolls on with smooth win over Partizan, 82-70

Olympiacos Piraeus stayed firmly in the driver’s seat of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings and improved to 21-7 in the regular season after cruising to an 82-70 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, the club’s 12th in the last 13 games in Europe’s premier club competition.

Having already secured a postseason berth with seven games to spare after some results went its way on Thursday evening, Olympiacos made light of the matchup with Partizan as the Greek giant led from start to finish in a lop-sided contest.

Sasha Vezenkov paced Olympiacos with 17 points and 6 boards but it was Partizan’s former center Nikola Milutinov who claimed the player of the game accolade after racking up 10 points and 9 boards, while Nigel Williams-Goss posted 10 points and 4 assists.

At the other end, Carlik Jones led Partizan on 17 points, Brandon Davies added 14 and captain Vanja Marinkovic chipped in with 12, but Partizan never looked capable of staging an upset as the visitors were devoid of energy and bereft of ideas on offense.

With the home fans in full swing as Olympiacos kicked off celebrations marking the club’s milestone 100th anniversary, the hosts made an early statement of intent and led 27-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Vezenkov led the way on 9 points as a ruthless Olympiacos shot 7 of 9 from inside and dished out 9 assists, with the home team thriving on impeccable movement off the ball on offense and an array of set plays which generated a barrage of easy points.

The trend continued in the second as a 12-2 run saw Olympiacos carve out a massive 37-20 advantage before Partizan enjoyed its brightest spell of the game by producing a 0-8 run. The Greek side responded immediately with a 9-2 streak which resulted in a 46-32 lead at halftime as Olympiacos dominated the paint, too, with Milutinov and fellow big man Moustapha Fall comprising a wall at their end of the court.

Visiting head coach Zeljko Obradovic tried to counter by deploying two bigs at the same time in the third quarter, Davies and Tyrique Jones, but nothing worked for Partizan and the EuroLeague’s most trophy-laden coach seemed resigned to his team’s fate.

Normally energetic and screaming instruction to his players in the heat of battle, Obradovic at one point just sat down on his bench in dismay as Olympiacos kept its foot on the gas and led 64-51 ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Partizan managed to close the gap to 11 points several times in the fourth quarter but Olympiacos always found another gear when it needed to and pulled away to 80-61 in the home stretch, before the visitors slashed the deficit in the last two minutes.

It was too little too late though and Olympiacos ran out a worthy winner after a rock-solid team effort, which saw the home side dish out 25 assists against just 12 turnovers, having also won the battle of the boards 33-27.

The EuroLeague leader strolled to a comfortable home victory after leading throughout the contest

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv defeated LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 95-102 at LDLC Arena on Friday night to clinch its eighth in a row against the French powerhouse. 

Maccabi prevails in offensive battle against ASVEL, 95-102

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv defeated LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 95-102 at LDLC Arena on Friday night to clinch its eighth in a row against the French powerhouse. The visitors escaped 24-35 early in the second period and led for most of the second half, but they needed to overcome an ASVEL rally in the fourth period as the hosts made it 81-80 with eight minutes remaining. A good reaction led by Jimmy Clark, Marial Shayok and Jasiel Rivero reanimated the guests and allowed them to close out the game and improve to 8-20. ASVEL fell to 11-17 after collecting its fifth defeat in a row. 

Levi Randolph led six Maccabi players in double figures with 19 points. Roman Sorkin, Clark, Rivero and Shayok scored 15 apiece, while Trevion Williams poured in 13. Nando de Colo paced ASVEL with 20 points and 8 assists, Melvin Ajinca had 14 points, Paris Lee added 12, and Joffrey Lauvergne and Neal Sako chipped in 10, with the latter also grabbing 11 rebounds for a double-double.

With Sorkin and Rivero dominating inside, Maccabi took an early 0-5 lead that lasted for more than four minutes before De Colo hit the first three of the night to make it 7-5. Free throws by Lee and Sako allowed ASVEL to stay ahead until Randolph tied it from behind the arc, 10-10, after seven minutes. The home team seemed to have taken control when Tarik Black made a three-point play that built an 18-12 edge, but back-to-back triples by Shayok and Clark evened things at 20-20 at the end of the first period.

Maccabi started very strong offensively and managed to extend its streak to 2-14, good for a double-digit lead, 22-31, early in the second. With John DiBartolomeo and Clark pulling the strings on offense, and using zone defense for many minutes, the visitors maintained a double-digit lead, 34-44. Veterans De Colo and Lauvergne then took over and even though defensive flaws penalized the hosts, ASVEL managed to recover, trailing by just two points, 51-53, at halftime, with the duo providing 12 of ASVEL’s last 17 points in the quarter.

Both teams remained red-hot on offense after the break as an exchange of three-pointers between Blatt and Ajinca made it 59-63 for Maccabi with just three minutes played in the period. De Colo trimmed the gap to 62-65 with his 500th career three-pointer soon after, then Ajinca also hit from deep, and Shaquille Harrison finished a fast break to make it all square, 67-67. Williams and Sorkin helped the visitors rebuild a short lead that Clark extended to 67-75 with a monster dunk after a steal. Then, De Colo showed up again and avoided an early escape with 5 points in a row that closed the third period with Maccabi leading 72-78.

Clark’s fourth foul and another three-pointer by De Colo revitalized ASVEL, which completed the rally and regained an 81-80 advantage after Lee turned De Colo’s assist into a fast-break triple with eight minutes to go. Clark returned to the game and immediately delivered one dish and a couple of fast breaks to boost Maccabi, 83-87. Consecutive three-point plays by ASVEL gave the home crowd a spark, but Shayok and Rivero joined Clark on offense to maintain a 92-96 edge for Maccabi entering crunch time. The hosts had another chance as a three-point play off an offensive rebound by Sako made it a one-point game. Nevertheless, Maccabi punished ASVEL through Rivero, who converted under the rim to keep a 95-98 margin. A long three by De Colo didn’t find the net on the following possession and free throws by Randolph sealed the outcome with 23 seconds to go.

The home team lost Maledon early in the game with a thumb injury

Anadolu Efes didn't get off to the best of starts on Friday evening against Virtus Bologna. After halftime, though, it was a different story as Vincent Poirier spearheaded a second-half comeback that saw Efes lock in defensively.

Vincent Poirier shined as Efes’s second-half defense overwhelmed Virtus

[Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/anadolu-efes-istanbul/ist/) didn't get off to the best of starts [on Friday evening against Virtus Segafredo Bologna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/efes-beats-virtus-89-68-for-fourth-straight-home-win/). After halftime, though, it was a different story as [Vincent Poirier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vincent-poirier/004887/) spearheaded a second-half comeback that saw Efes lock in defensively.

Virtus were the better team before the break, taking a 39-42 lead into the third quarter. That’s precisely when Poirier stepped up, helping Efes to pack the paint as it looked to tighten up its defense.

Poirier set the tone on both ends, recording 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in the third quarter as the hosts held Virtus to just 10 points, with Efes taking a 61-52 advantage into the closing period.

“I think that we got some interceptions in the second half,” Poirier told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We packed the defense and everything was harder for them. That’s the way we need to play, especially at home. It’s our home court. We need to defend and \[allow\] no easy layup.”

Poirier dominated inside and finished the game with 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, 7 of which came on the offensive end to provide Efes with important extra possessions.

“I knew that I had to step on the court and dominate tonight,” he added. “Every game is like a final for us and I hope we’re going to continue like that.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👊 “It’s time to take big win on the road!”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhereIStand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhereIStand</a> <a href="https://t.co/cQmeJo1ScG">pic.twitter.com/cQmeJo1ScG</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1898108494798069930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Having recorded an 89-68 triumph to notch its fourth straight win at home, Efes will now look to grab its first road victory in 10 games.

“It’s time for us to go on the road and get some wins if we want to have some ambitions,” coach Luca Banchi stressed in the postgame press conference.

To do so, the Turkish side will need to down an FC Bayern Munich side boasting extraordinary offensive firepower. Hence, defense will once again be key next week at SAP Garden, where Efes will need to emulate Friday’s defensive outing as it looks to escape with an important victory that would allow it to remain in playoff conversation.

The Efes center recorded a double-double for the hosts

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2025-03-07T17:30:00.000Z)